STRIP SCRIBBLES
*Superstar chef Wolfgang Puck welcomed a power-crowd to last night’s official opening of his new Palazzo restaurant, Cut.
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Rival chefs Alex Stratta from Wynn and Luciano Pellegrini from Valentino’s at The Venetian welcomed him to the new hotel along with The Palazzo chieftains Sheldon and Miriam Adelson and Bill Weidner.
Wolf told me that he will be behind the grill himself tonight the entire evening cooking on Day one of the new hit steak house. He also unveiled an amazing collection of special paintings that adorn the wall from artist John Millei.
*Not one but three celebrity sightings at last night’s Bette Midler show in The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Actress-director Helen Hunt who co-stars with Bette in the new spring movie Then She Found Me; actress Jessica Alba and our beloved hometown singing star Gladys Knight.
*The January visitor count was released this morning and the good news is that we still had over 3.1 million people pouring into the valley—and that figure is only 0.5 percent down from last year: from 85.4 percent to 84.9 percent. The bad news though is that gaming revenues fell 4.1 percent because of a 13.1 percent drop in convention business. Our Vegas hotels in Macau, on the other hand, such as Venetian and Wynn boomed with an occupancy rate of 78.1 percent totaling 562,547 guests, representing a 31 percent increase over the previous year despite new construction making a total of 16,126 rooms vs. 12,922 last January.
*A squad of celebrities hit our nightclubs to party hearty—singer Taylor Dane had eight-friends in tow at the new Bank in the Bellagio and they all sang and danced along to her hit, “Tell it to My Heart.” Controversial Madam Heidi Fleiss was spotted in the VIP balcony, while two-tables away was NBA star Sean Lester Rooks with his girlfriend.
Over at the new boutique Blush nightclub in the Wynn celebrity gossip guru Perez Hilton visited his music director DJ Mighty Mi who is the club’s resident DJ. The two were plotting the music for Perez’s 30th birthday upcoming on March 22. Also at Blush was Vegas hometown hottie Frenchie Angelique.
The most clicked-on contestant in VH1’s Rock of Love reality series hosted a Syrup swimwear fashion show.
*Internationally acclaimed chef Roy Yamaguchi is celebrating his 20th anniversary since he first founded Roy’s in Honolulu. He will launch a nine-city anniversary culinary tour in Orlando, Florida on March 5 and wrap-up with a 20th anniversary spectacular in Honolulu on Oct. 4. My longtime pal, Roy will make a special stop here on April 8 at his just-off-the Strip east side restaurant on Flamingo. Other cities will include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta and Baltimore.
The tour celebrates two decades of Chef Roy’s unique and award-winning contribution to the culinary arts, known as Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine. He holds the distinction of being honored early in his career with the prestigious James Beard “Best Pacific Northwest Chef” award—making him the first award recipient from Hawaii. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Roy now serves on the highly respected Board of Trustees. As testimony to his success, there are now 34 Roy’s restaurants worldwide in 11 states, Japan and Guam.
“Since the opening of my first restaurant in Honolulu in 1988, I have always strived to create an alternative to the ordinary and the expected,” said Roy. “It is deeply gratifying that the food I love to prepare has been embraced by so many throughout the world.”
* Congratulations to Joseph Phillips of Bellagio’s Sensi restaurant on his entry into the Court of Master Sommeliers. Phillips becomes the fourth of Bellagio’s already impressive team of Master Sommeliers, joining Robert Smith of Picasso, Jason Smith of Michael Mina Bellagio, and Director of Wine Robert Bigelow. The honor establishes the record for the most Master Sommeliers at a single property anywhere in the world. The Bellagio is home to a record 18 sommeliers, four of whom are female. Considered the highest honor among wine professionals, the title of Master Sommelier recognizes the utmost level of wine and spirits knowledge. Three levels of training must be completed before pursuing the Master Sommelier diploma—Introductory Sommelier, Certified Sommelier and Advanced Sommelier. Upon completion of these courses, candidates are required to pass a rigorous three-part exam testing the extent of their knowledge. The test consists of written and service exams in addition to blind tastings.